Chapter 14
I inquire, “Tarek, what are you doing in the buff?”
“Get down to your bare bottom and come with me.”
I trust him, and listen to him, stripping out of my knee-long trunk the color of the sun. “Where are we going?”
“There’s a path next to the lake. Let’s take it.”
“The pathway is a dead end. Why do we have to be in our birthday suits?”
“Just to feel free. To take the burden of life away from us. To forget about all the nonsense and bullshit.”
Strangely, I understand what he’s saying.
He finds my right hand in his left hand and we head towards the narrow path. He begins to swing my arm with his and I don’t fight the action. In doing so, he inquires, “Your birthday is coming up, right?”
“It is. Next week. Thursday?”
“How old are you going to be?”
“Thirty-two.”
“A monumental year. The true year a boy turns into a man. You can no longer blame your problems on inexperience.”